


See Me Feel Me Touch Me Heal Me

by gemgirl28



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: During Canon, F/M, Fluff, Mostly Canon Compliant, One Shot, Protective Toph Beifong, Toph helps Zuko, Touch-Starved Zuko (Avatar), Until the very end, but she cares so much, exploring her friendship with him, not that shell ever admit it, secret soft toph, toph and zukos relationship is kinda one sided
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:34:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26742964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gemgirl28/pseuds/gemgirl28
Summary: Because Toph knows everything, she is the first member of Team Avatar to realize how touch starved Zuko is.A short fic in which Toph knows everything, Zuko is touch starved, and Toph's going to help. And maybe spread a little chaos as well. Begins at The Western Air Temple.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Zuko
Comments: 21
Kudos: 311





	See Me Feel Me Touch Me Heal Me

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is not the first fic I wrote, but it is the first one I'm publishing, so that's exciting! I'm new to the ATLA fandom thanks to Netflix, and I fell pretty hard for Zutara. Like, I've read nothing but Zutara fics for the past three months. This one isn't super Zutara-centric, but the idea of a secret soft Toph trying to get her parents together makes me really happy. Title is from The Who's song by the same name off the Tommy album.
> 
> I'm not a writer, so any feedback is definitely appreciated!

Because Toph knows everything, she is the first member of Team Avatar to realize how touch starved Zuko is.

(Well, she thinks she knows everything, but go ahead and try to find someone willing to argue with her on that point.)

Anyways, she recognizes his heart does funny things whenever someone is near him, but it’s not until he gets back from his little field trip finding the original Firebenders and Aang hugs him that Toph puts two and two together.

It makes sense, after all she knows all about strict upbringings and parents who think that depriving you of something makes you better. Her parents deprived her of the outside world because they thought it would keep her safe. Clearly Ozai deprived Zuko of physical touches, like hugs, to try and make him “stronger”.

(Although she has to admit Zuko’s got a particular awful brand of crazy strict parenting to overcome.)

Toph does her best to subtly help Zuko. Maybe she’s bored. Maybe she needs something to distract herself from the impending doom of the comet. Or maybe she doesn’t need to justify her actions to anyone, including herself. Either way, she finds herself trying to come up with excuses for her and the others to touch Zuko.

It’s easy enough for her. He owes her for burning her feet, so she gets him to carry her around as much as possible. If she holds on just a little tighter and gently squeezes him every once in a while, that’s for her to know and Zuko to overcome his childhood trauma.

(Maybe she also enjoys these moments when she has Zuko all to herself. Toph has never felt comfortable with her feet in the air but when Zuko holds her, she feels safer than she ever did under her parent’s control.)

She drops hints to Sokka that Zuko would make a great sparring partner, knowing that Sokka will likely embrace Zuko after the fights. After their little field trip, she drops the same hint to Suki, hoping she’ll do the same. Suki is suspicious, so Toph lets her in on what she has been mentally calling “Project Heal Zuko”. After that, not only do Sokka and Suki embrace Zuko after they spar, they also gravitate towards him at meals. She feels his heart pick up each time Sokka clasps his shoulder when they tell a story or when Suki squeezes his hand for laughing at one of Sokka’s bad jokes.

She tells The Duke that Zuko knows the greatest stories, and so every night after dinner the kid climbs into Zuko’s lap and demands a story. In truth, Zuko is terrible at telling stories, but he somehow manages to lull the kid off to sleep every night. She thinks it has something to do with his inner fire and ability to raise his body temperature, but whatever it is, it works. She feels his heartbeat in contentment as he holds the kid for a few minutes before carefully placing The Duke in his sleeping bag.

She mentions to Aang that he might want to show appreciation for his firebending teacher via hugs. Aang seems skeptical, but makes sure to end every lesson with a hug. Toph can tell they are awkward at first, but they become more comfortable as time goes on. She also convinces Aang and Teo to take Zuko on a tour of the temple. His protests almost sound convincing enough to believe he doesn’t want to go, but the way his heartbeat picks up when Aang grabs his hand to pull him along tells Toph how much he needs this.

She doesn’t have to say anything to Hakoda. Maybe because he’s older, or a dad, or maybe he just can read people, but Hakoda naturally finds ways to touch Zuko without being awkward about it. A clasp on the shoulder here, a good-natured slap on the back there, and Zuko’s heart is hammering at a happier pace than it has since she’s known him.

By this point, there’s only one person on their team who actively avoids Zuko, and Toph knows she’ll be the hardest to get to help. Katara has made a thing of avoiding Zuko since he showed up, to the extent that she won’t pass him a bowl of food at meals, instead setting in on the ground and sliding it across the floor in his general direction.

Toph spends two whole days trying to decide what to do about Katara before giving up and going for what she considers the most fun option.

“You should kiss Zuko,” Toph casually tells her as they work on laundry in the temple fountain together one morning.

“WHAT?!”

“You should kiss Zuko,” she repeated, putting on her best innocent face.

“WHY WOULD I DO THAT?” Katara’s shouting startles Momo, who had followed them around while Aang was training with Zuko.

Toph merely shrugged, folding a shirt and setting it aside. “I think it would be good for both of you.”

Toph could feel the emotions rolling through Katara. Rage was the overwhelming feeling, but beneath it, it felt like there was a little hurt and bitterness but also… curiosity? Was that… desire? She did her best to keep her features calm.

“That’s it, no more sparring for you. Clearly you’ve taken too many hits to the head,” Katara grumbled, clearly trying (and failing) to switch the topic away from herself. Toph merely shrugged her shoulders again and played along.

“Forget I said anything. Hey, I think it’s almost time for me to get Twinkletoes for earthbending. See you later!”

“Me kiss Zuko?! Ha. What a ridiculous idea… Ha ha,” Katara muttered to herself under her breath, but of course Toph still heard it. Toph finally let herself chuckle as she walked away to find Aang.

Toph worried that the seed she planted wasn’t enough, especially when Azula showed up and forced their group to separate again. But when she found out Zuko had taken Katara on a field trip to find, of all people, her mother’s killer, Toph’s faith in herself was restored. After all, no one could read people like Toph could.

She waited until after dinner to follow Katara to the beach in front of the summer palace. Toph kicked up sand as she walked up, partially so Katara knew she was coming but partially to try and get sand all over her.

“So, sounds like you had a crazy field trip,” Toph carefully began. She didn’t want to get into the details of the trip, nor did she think Katara wanted to relive them again.

The older girl sighed and splashed in the edge of the water. “Yeah, that’s one way of putting it.”

“Well regardless of what happened, I think I speak for everyone when I say I’m glad you and Sparky made up.”

Toph tried really hard not to smile at the flutter of Katara’s heart when she mentioned Zuko.

“Yeah, me too.” Katara sounded daydreamy, and if Toph wasn’t on a mission, she would have thrown up.

(She was _definitely_ not going to be one of those girls that got all gooey and stupid over a boy. No boy was ever going to be worth that.)

“Soooo,” Toph draws out the word for dramatic pause, “Did you guys kiss and make up or are you saving the kissing for later?”

On the sand she gets just a split-second warning (which is all she needs) to dodge Katara’s water whip and run, cackling as she dashes up the hill. She doesn’t need to hear Katara’s heart to know that her teasing worked.

Which is why she’s not surprised to walk in on Katara and Zuko making out in the kitchen a week later.

(She’s a little surprised it took them a whole week to get here, but alas, they are both the most stubborn people she knows. Outside of herself, of course).

She doesn’t even try to hide the wicked grin on her face as Zuko starts spluttering an explanation. She ignores him and turns to Katara.

“So Sugar Queen, I guess you guys finally kissed and made up after all!”

It was much easier to dodge the water whip this time, even doubled over in laughter. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. I meant what I said, I think it’s good for both of you. Just don’t let it go too long without telling Aang.”

She turned and walked out the door, still chuckling to herself. That night at dinner, when she feels Katara holding Zuko’s hand under the table, and can feel how _at peace_ both their heart beats are, she thinks she figured out why she wanted Katara to kiss Zuko in the first place, why she started “Project Heal Zuko”.

She just wanted all of her family to love each other as much as she loved them.

**Author's Note:**

> I love and appreciate any and all feedback!
> 
> Also come say hi on tumblr @gemgirl28


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